


Honest Confessions

by Fritten



Category: Avenged Sevenfold
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-02
Updated: 2020-04-02
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:35:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,331
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23442556
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fritten/pseuds/Fritten
Summary: A one-shot drabble with Matt and Val where she confronts him on his hidden feelings for Jimmy.
Relationships: M. Shadows/Jimmy "The Rev" Sullivan, Mimmy
Kudos: 7





	Honest Confessions

Parties at Casa de Sanders were typically something of an event. When there was something to celebrate, which could be anything from a career achievement to their favorite team winning the Superbowl or the World Series. The reason didn’t really matter, anything could be an excuse to get together with a lot of good food and have friends over to share it with. This time really, it was just family. Kim and Gary, their children Amy and Matthew along with his entourage of friends that were practically their own kids anyway.

Ever since they were little, the five boys had been attached at the hip. Starting from the age of seven when Matt had met Jimmy Sullivan in basketball camp and the rest of the boys in the coming years. This had only become more apparent since the formation of the band, and while this sort of thing was to be expected on tour… really they were just best friends that had the privilege of being able to make music and tour the world together. Kim Sanders was thankful though that they’d had a ton of help from Matt’s high school sweetheart Valary Dibenedetto to help keep them in line, though she was unsure of the reasons why they weren’t as sweet on one another these days.

As time had gone on, the pair had realized that they were acting more and more like friends instead of the love struck teenagers that they once were, their relationship evolving into a very tight-knit, close friendship. Val could often be counted on to know what was going on inside Matt’s head, even before he did at times. Which she considered to be a perk, especially on days like today when he was doing an exceptionally good job of keeping himself completely stuck inside of his own thoughts.

Instead of running around outside and taking a dive in the pool like everyone else, here he stood in a white tee and blue swim trunks with a knife in hand helping his mother chop veggies for the tray and salad, making drinks and other things. This in and of itself wasn’t _that_ odd, but the fact of the matter was that he’d insisted and continued to help even after she had attempted to shoo him from the kitchen. It wasn’t anything she couldn’t handle, she'd said, but he was playing the role of the dutiful son. He wasn’t about to let her do everything by herself, regardless of the fact that Amy had already been here the night prior for some preparation, but that was neither here nor there. The fact that he’d passed up on the opportunity to relax after having been on the road made her wonder if he was actually looking for something to focus on instead of whatever or whomever that was already at the forefront of his mind.

Val walked into the house from the back, making her way into the kitchen to find Kim standing at the stove spooning up a pot of mashed potatoes into a large serving dish, while Matt was just behind her at the island slicing radishes for a large bowl of salad. He was focused on the task at hand, eerily so she’d thought as she approached him from the side.

“If your slices get any smaller, you’ll be able to see right through them…” she teases and leans her head on his bicep for a moment before making herself comfortable against the island.

Laughing lightly at her critique, Matt looked over at Val and smiled. “Hey, there’s a lot of us here, I’ve gotta make this last, these things are stupidly tiny.”

“Don’t mind him, he’s just being a perfectionist.” His mother chimed in with a smile. No one could argue this fact, Matt had the tendency to take projects very seriously.

Before he could say anything in his defense, the door to the patio swung open and the unmistakable giggling of Brian Haner Jr. and Jimmy Sullivan came through the door, dressed in nothing more than their semi-dry swim trunks. “We have official orders from Captain Sanders to collect the highly valued and nearly invisible poking cutlery from the Wall of Mart.” Jimmy stated seriously walking in and feigning an expression as if he were a soldier on a mission of dire importance. Brian snickered loudly, nudging Jimmy in the ribs with his elbow. “Dude, can’t you just say we came to get the forks? And the serving plate… burgers are getting done out there.”  
  
“They’re just over on the table there boys, feel free to grab them I think we’re almost done here.” Kim says with a smile and a laugh. 

Jimmy makes his way over to the island, which just so happened to be on the way to the table and without missing a beat, reaches around Matt with a complete disregard of his personal space and into the large salad bowl, grabbing a cherry tomato from the top and pops it into his mouth with gusto.

“Hey!” Matt exclaimed, “Hey, hey… paws off the merchandise. Don’t make me cut your fingers off.” He gestures the small knife towards the dark haired man.

Jimmy giggled heartily, wrinkling his nose and grinning like a kid before being asked to help carry things outside. Shaking his head, Matt had finally finished chopping, having put the last few radish slices into the bowl as he watched Jimmy follow Brian and his mother outside.

Jesus, he looked good in those black shorts though, he thought, his hips were certainly doing a terrible job of keeping the waistline of his swim trunks actually on his waist. They were low enough, that Matt could easily admire the lines on his long lean frame. Before he realized what he was doing, he caught himself thinking about what the rest of him might look like in case his shorts happened to fall off.

No, stop thinking shit like that - Matt chided himself - you’re at your parents house for Christ’s sake.

“Hey Matt? You in there?” finally came a feminine voice through the fog. He paused and blinked a few times before looking down to regard Val, who apparently had been attempting to get his attention for some time now and he’d literally just now heard her.

“Huh?! What?” he appeared confused and for a moment he’d forgotten she’d even been standing there.

With a soft smile, Val repeated her previous question that she’d waited to ask until they were the only ones in the room. “When are you gonna tell Jimbo that you like him?” Her voice had a note of questioning in it that he couldn’t quite place.

”Val… Jimmy is one of my best friends… I think he already knows I like him.”

Shifting her weight she turned to lean against the island and look up at him. “Yea, true.” she began, “But I bet that he doesn’t know you always watch him when he enters or leaves a room… or that you go out of your way to touch him, even when you normally wouldn’t to anyone else… and…”

Matt’s eyes widen slightly, as he attempts to find _something_ to busy himself with. There was no way that he was so obvious that Val had noticed… this conversation wasn’t really happening. “And you’re cute, you know that?” he asks, a hint of sarcasm in his tone, “I don’t act any different around him than I do anyone else.”

Val finds herself laughing lightly and shakes her head. Of course he wasn’t going to admit it outright. She imagined that it was probably a scary thing, developing an attraction to someone that had been your best friend for your entire life; especially when you were of the same sex. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that he had never thought about another man this way, ever. At least until now, which was more than likely why he was feigning innocence and attempting to deflect.

”If that were the case, then what was that just now?” she asks, tilting her head curiously and gesturing to the back door.

”What was what just now?” Matt retorts.

”You were so focused on watching Jimmy walk back outside that you didn’t hear anything that I said until I finally got your attention.”

”Val, seriously I-” he tries to continue to convince her that he’d just been looking in that direction, that he wasn’t at all watching the drummer’s backside but the expression on her face suggested that it would fall on deaf ears anyway. She was far too perceptive, and knew him too damn well to _not_ know. He’d been kidding himself to think that Val wouldn’t have caught on. Matt’s brow furrowed before quietly asking, “How long have you known?”

”For a little while, but don’t worry… you’re hiding it very well.“Val smiles brightly. “Unlucky for you, I happen to know you almost as well as you know yourself.”

Yep. He called that one.

Taking in a deep breath, Matt leans against the island and folds his arms over his chest before releasing that breath on a sigh, “You do… you really do. And to answer your question I… I have no idea when I’m going to tell him, if I ever tell him…” He’s staring at the floor for a moment before looking up at Val.

“It’s scary as hell you know… but you’re right. I do go out of my way to touch him, and to be around him. But it’s fine… it’s just a weird phase, it’ll pass.” But that was the scariest part. Matt was still trying to convince himself that it was a phase. It had been going on for months now, the fact that he thought about Jimmy almost constantly in one way or another notwithstanding.

“I hate to break it to you Matty,” Val said gently, “But having feelings for someone isn’t exactly what I’d call a phase.”

”I don’t…” he said without hesitation, trying to convince her just as much as he was trying to convince himself. But deep down he knew she was right. Jimmy was the first thing on his mind when he woke up in the morning, and his last thought before he fell asleep. It was more than just the attraction, it wasn’t just lust… it was an all encompassing need to be with him.

“Holy shit…” Matt practically whispers as the realization that Val was right hits him. He was falling for his best friend. And he’d been doing it for months without even knowing it.

”Your secret’s safe with me.” Val said as she crossed the small gap between them, and leaned against him offering her support. “Whatever you decide to do, I’ll support you. But in my humble little opinion, I think you should tell him.”

He uncrosses his arms and then braces them behind him and leans against the counter, “There’s a lot of shit involved in that Val… it’s not like I can just walk up to him and say, hey Jimmy I’m into you, let’s make out and fuck the consequences. There’s our friendship to consider, the band… I don’t know if I’d be willing to risk a lifelong friendship for… well… and besides… you know there’s probably a slim chance in hell that he’d even reciprocate.”

”Well no, you walk up to him and say that he’d likely throw his head back and laugh and think you were joking.” Val says sincerely, and Matt bobs his head up and down in agreement. That was a fact that he couldn’t argue with. The man was pretty much everyone’s best friend really, so the fact that Val pegged what would be his exact reaction didn’t come as a surprise either.

“We’ve all known each other our entire lives, your friendship is just as important to him as it is to you. Worst case, he doesn’t feel the same… you and I both know that Jimmy wouldn’t let that come between you.”

Matt looks towards the glass french doors and he can see their friends milling about. Zack, Brian, Johnny and Michelle were all goofing off in the pool. He could see Jimmy standing off to the side, a diet coke in hand chatting with his sister. The smile that crossed his features made his heart lurch in his chest, and he couldn’t help the sensation of butterflies in his stomach that threatened to take over.

”Just think about it Matt. You don’t have to tell him today or tomorrow or even next week… just think about it. I don’t want it to eat you up… leaving you forever wondering, you know?” She gives him a warm smile as she stands fully raising up on her toes and presses a kiss against the singer’s cheek before turning to grab the tray of vegetables and dip. “We should probably get these outside before they think we’re not coming.”

”Y-yea, that’s a good idea.” Matt agreed, at least about getting the food outside. He was still on the fence yet about letting Jimmy know his true feelings. Turning to grab the salad and serving tongs, he followed Val over to the doors, opening one of them for her and following behind. He supposed that he would figure it out eventually when he couldn’t stand it anymore and just blurted it out. That would be his luck.

”Okay, food's all here. You don’t have to starve anymore Jim-Jam.” Matt said with a grin, pushing his thoughts down as best he could. Though once he locked eyes with the blue eyed drummer, who had been dramatically acting as though he was wasting away when he and Val had walked outside. Matt found it next to impossible to not melt when that sunny smile turned on him. 

Having feelings for your best friend was a lot easier when you didn’t hear it being acknowledged out loud that was for damn sure.

Oh man, was he in deep.


End file.
